1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a motorized pull-out device for a tall cupboard having a pull-out section, with the pull-out device including a pull-out rail connected with the pull-out section of the tall cupboard, a motor for pulling the pull-out rail out and for driving the pull-out rail in, a control unit for controlling operation of the motor, and a switch for actuating the motor for effecting pulling the pull-out section of the tall cupboard out and driving the pull-out section in.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Motor-driven pull-out devices are usually used with pull-out sections, which carry relatively large loads, in order to facilitate their displacement. In particular, such devices are used for moving drawer sections of tall cupboards. Such pull-out devices can, however, also be used for moving drawers or boxes, which are filled with heavy objects, e.g., tools, of work benches.
With the known motor-driven pull-out devices of the above-described type, the actuation is effected with a switch stirrup arranged in a base of a tall cupboard housing or frame and actuated by a foot of a user. Upon a first touch of the stirrup, the pull-out section or drawer is pull-out completely. Upon a further touch, the drawer or the pull-out section is driven-in. A drawback of this arrangement consists in that with the pulled-out drawer, the switch stirrup becomes accessible only with much difficulty. From the front, actuation of the stirrup is practically impossible. In order to actuate the switch stirrup, the user should try to reach it from the side. However, the sidewise accessibility in many cases is very difficult, e.g., when several tall cupboards are arranged side by side.
German Publication DE 23 29 342A1 discloses a control device for a cupboard displaceable on rails. For controlling the displacement, there is provided a light sender-light receiver unit. In this way, with the control unit of DE 23 29 342A1, no multiwire hanging cable is necessary for displacing the cupboard. However, power feed to the separate cupboards is still necessary. The power, however, can be fed via the support rails or via a separate conductor rail.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pull-out device of the above-described type which is user-friendly, can be easily secured to a cupboard or similar item, and requires little maintenance.
This and other objects, of the present invention, which will become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by providing means for actuating the switch and that includes a light source, a light receiver, a light reflector for reflecting the light emitted by the light source onto the light receiver and associated with the pull-out section of the tall cupboard, and an actuation member for displacing the light reflector between a first position, in which the light emitted by the light source is reflected by the light reflector onto the light receiver, and a second position in which the light emitted by the light source is not reflected by the light receiver onto the light receiver.
With the switch-actuating means according to the present invention, the actuation member can be mounted, e.g., on the pull-out section, a tool box or a pull-out section of a tall cupboard. Advantageously, the actuation member is mounted on the front cover of the pull-out item and is preferably secured to the bottom of the pull-out section or box. This insures easy accessibility of the actuation member even with the pull-out section, drawer or box, being pulled-out. The actuation member is accessible, with the drawer or box being pulled out, both from the front and from the side. With the pull-out device according to the present invention, no cable, which would extend to the pull-out section, is necessary. Extending the cable to the pull-out section would have been associated with high manufacturing costs and a relatively high wear because of permanent bending loads applied to the cable. Further, with the pull-out device according to the present invention, no power source is arranged in the pull-out section which would have required additional maintenance or its replacement upon its exhaustion.
The novel features of the present invention, which are considered as characteristic for the invention, are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional advantages and objects thereof, will be best understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, when read with reference to the accompanying drawings.